Niimbus US 5
High-end desktop headphone amplifier / preamp ("Ultimate Series")
Headphone Amp / Distribution$5,999Manufacturer list price
Specifications
- Type
- Headphone Amp / Distribution
- Description
- High-end desktop headphone amplifier / preamp ("Ultimate Series")
- Topology
- 100% analog, channel-separated headphone amplifier with 4 discrete amplifier stages; dual toroidal-transformer linear power supply, >50,000 µF filter capacitance; internal operating voltage 60V (per current cma.audio/violectric.de spec; 2021 launch press material stated 50V)
- Signal path
- Analog
- Channels
- 2
- Channel format
- stereo
- Form factor
- Desktop chassis
- Powered
- yes (mains-powered, internal linear PSU, 115-230VAC 50/60Hz)
- Power (W)
- 7000 mW into 50 Ω (Pmax); 32V RMS into 600 Ω
- Frequency response
- 0 Hz - 200 kHz (per headphones.com/audio46 dealer listings; Violectric spec sheet for the PRO variant lists 5 Hz - 250 kHz ±0.5 dB, see notes)
- Impedance (Ω)
- Amp output impedance < 15 Ω (high damping factor); no single supported-headphone-impedance range published, but rated to drive both low-impedance and high-impedance (planar) headphones up to 600 Ω
- Introduced
- 2021
- Country of manufacture
- Germany
Details
Controls: Input select, independent headphone/line output enable, motorized volume, balance, mute, pre-gain trim -18 to +24 dB, IR remote (milled aluminum remote included)
I/O: In: 3x analog stereo (2x RCA unbalanced, 1x XLR balanced). Out: 1x balanced headphone (4-pin XLR), 1x balanced headphone (4.4mm Pentaconn), 2x single-ended headphone (6.3mm jack), 2x line out (1x RCA unbalanced, 1x XLR balanced, switchable pre/post-fader)
Notable use: Flagship/reference desktop headphone amplifier and preamp for critical listening and mastering-adjacent headphone monitoring; marketed primarily as audiophile hi-fi ("Ultimate Series") but built by pro-audio maker Lake People/Violectric and used as a reference amp in some private studios
Notes: PRICE: no USD price published on manufacturer's own site (cma.audio/violectric.de list EUR only: EUR 5,499 incl. VAT). USD price of $5,999 is from independent US authorized dealer listings (headphones.com), cross-checked as internally consistent with EUR pricing at prevailing FX. FLAG: SNR (>129 dB A-wt.), THD (0.00063% @10V/100Ω,1W) and crosstalk (-106dB) figures found on US dealer pages could not be independently confirmed on the manufacturer's own EN product page and are omitted from structured fields pending verification. FLAG: internal operating voltage stated as 60V on current cma.audio/violectric.de pages vs 50V in the original Aug-2021 audioxpress launch announcement - likely a running spec revision. FLAG: 'US 5' is the direct successor to the discontinued Niimbus US 4 / US 4+ (their product URLs on cma.audio now redirect to the homepage, confirming they are no longer current/orderable) - excluded from this file per 'current models only' scope. No DAC module is offered for this model (pure analog signal path) - flagged since some competing headphone amps offer optional internal DAC modules. Positioned as high-end/audiophile hi-fi rather than a strictly 'pro' studio tool, though the brand and manufacturer (Lake People/Violectric, cma audio GmbH) are pro-audio companies - flagged per prompt guidance on pro-vs-audiophile framing.